Pci express or not

[The Swami]

I have the new asus A8n sli premium mobo and the 4400 x2 amd and 4 gigs of ram with a 650 watt power supply but I don't know which video card to get should I go PCI express 16x or what I heard there were some issues with nforce4 but I need some advice

[cultureofgreed]

Originally Posted by The Swami

I have the new asus A8n sli premium mobo and the 4400 x2 amd and 4 gigs of ram with a 650 watt power supply but I don't know which video card to get should I go PCI express 16x or what I heard there were some issues with nforce4 but I need some advice

I would avoid PCI-Express unless your audio card is a PCI-Express (I think ProTools HD has a PCI Express version in the works). There is just no need for PCI-Express in a DAW right now in my opinion. This may change in the next 2 years or so, but by then your CPU will be underpowered and the socket 939 maybe history.

SLI is for gaming, not for a DAW. Using a mobo that is truely designed for gaming is not what you should be looking at. The ASUS A8V Socket 939 VIA K8T800 is a great choice for a DAW. Pair that with a matrox Millennium P750 and you got a great dual monitor capable DAW card.

[genericperson]

i think the computer industry is brilliant at phasing in new technologies gently over time. it's clear they want everything to go pci express eventually. but they are breaking it in gradually.

my understanding is that the AGP slot will give less video performance than the latest PCI express setups, but drain less resources off of the rest of the PCI channels (the AGP is more of a separate pipeline, where PCI express intertwines with the rest of the PCI buss). so for audio, it makes sense to stay with AGP for now.

[cdog]

I have a Radeon X850 in my AGP slot (anyone play BF2?)

3 UAD1s and a MOTU PCI424.

On a pretty crappy DFI 865PE.

Works 100% flawless.

It gets really, really hot. Only when gaming, though.

Whatever you do, make sure you have adequate cooling in your box.

I would look at some of the liquid cooling solutions if you have any interest in overclocking.

[jcschild]

Originally Posted by The Swami

I have the new asus A8n sli premium mobo and the 4400 x2 amd and 4 gigs of ram with a 650 watt power supply but I don't know which video card to get should I go PCI express 16x or what I heard there were some issues with nforce4 but I need some advice

with that mobo you have to get PCIe video, you dang sure dont want PCI video.

i hope you dont plan on any UADs, wont work with Nforce 4 at this time.

Poco works great.

also your performance is 25% less than had you bought a Nforce3 or Via KT800.
motherboard.

Scott
ADK